The Ultimate Guide/Half Moon Speaks

The Ultimate Guide
Chapter number:	Half Moon Speaks (of 19)
Page numbers:	160-161
Point of View:	Half Moon's point of view; first-person
Chronology

Below contains in-depth information for the Half Moon Speaks chapter of The Ultimate Guide. If you are looking for a shorter summary of the entire book, please check the main article.

Chapter description

Half Moon's PoV

Half Moon meows that there have always been cats living in the territories between Highstones and the Twolegplace -- the lands that later became the homes of the Clans. She notes that these cats were rogues and loners, living separately and independently, with occasional clashes over a piece of prey. Half Moon meows that they all had their favorite places to hunt and sleep, but there were no borders between hunting grounds, and no sense that one area was home more to one cat than another. The she-cat comments that it stayed this way until the mountain cats came. She tells that these cats had left the rugged shelter beneath a waterfall in search of somewhere richer with prey and warmer to live. Half Moon meows that scant generations before, their ancestors had abandoned their home beside a lake, finding refuge in snow-capped mountains where prey had to be dragged from eagles' wings. She says that she was among those cats who'd lived beside the lake, and was known by the name of Half Moon. The she-cat notes that by the time some had left the mountains, she was known as the Teller of the Pointed Stones, leader of cats who lived beneath the waterfall. Half Moon states that they battled hard to survive among the rocks and snow, but brought too many hungry mouths to feed in a place that barely emerged from the cold season.

She says that when she'd almost forgotten what a full belly felt like, she'd had a dream of a soft and sheltering place with room for many cats to live and raise kits. Half Moon notes that she was too old to travel far, but gave her blessing for those who were brave enough to leave in search of what she'd seen. The she-cat comments that when these cats had reached Highstones, they looked down on moorland, forest, and winding river, knowing they'd found their home. Half Moon mews that there were trees for those who preferred to stalk, a river for those who were willing to wet their paws, and open moorland for those who caught rabbits out in the open. She states that it took many moons for five Clans to emerge with boundaries and the warrior code to guide them, but the seeds of the Clans were sown in the personalities of the early settlers. Half Moon reflects that they fought, quarreled, and shared in loss and disaster. She notes that every sunrise, every paw step, and every blow struck drew them steadily closer to the Clans they'd become, and farther from the memories of the cats they left behind.

Characters

Major

• Half Moon

Mentioned

• Tribe of Rushing Water (ancient)(Unnamed)
• RiverClan
• SkyClan
• ShadowClan
• ThunderClan
• WindClan
• The Early Settlers